Samsung Galaxy S7 rumoured for January launch before MWC 2016

Samsung's latest flagship, the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, could soon have a sibling in the form of the Galaxy S7IBTimes UK

Samsung, which introduced its Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and the flagship Galaxy Note 5 earlier than expected, is now rumoured to follow the same approach as far as launching its next high-end Galaxy S iteration is concerned. As of now, the next Galaxy S smartphone edition is rumoured to be the Galaxy S7. The latest rumours hint at this handset being launched in January 2016.

According to an ET News Korea report (translated), initially spotted by SamMobile, loyalists of Samsung can expect the Galaxy S7 to be launched in two exclusive variants: sub-premium and premium. ET News has also hinted that the smartphone will be launched as soon as 19 January.

The launch timing would be well ahead of Samsung's schedule, considering the fact that Samsung is known to launch flagship Galaxy smartphones during the MWC proper, rather than before the event. Multiple rumour mills have also hinted at the yet-to-be-launched Galaxy S7 incorporating an ePOP chipset (single-chip technology) to integrate/collect all sensors at a single place. This technology can be seen within Samsung's recent Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge.

It makes sense for Samsung to launch the Galaxy S7 on 19 January as arch-rival Apple has the powerful (as per benchmarks) iPhone 6s Plus flagship smartphone. The Galaxy S7 could make some heads turn, especially considering the fact that the unreleased smartphone is also rumoured to feature the iPhone 6s-like pressure sensitive touchscreens to emulate 3D-Touch functionality. At present, Huawei's Mate S comes with pressure sensitive touchscreen.

Other rumoured key technical specs of the Samsung Galaxy S7 include the ability to expand the default internal storage via an external MicroSD card. This feature is currently not present even in Samsung's latest Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus.